891.114 Narcotics/9–1945
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Iran (Murray)
Sir: Reference is made to your despatch no. 95 of September 19, 1945,25 transmitting an English translation of portions of a recent address by Mr. Mahmoud Bader, Minister of Finance, on the policy of the Iranian Government regarding opium.26
The statements made by Mr. Bader putting the Iranian Government on record on certain phases of this subject are appreciated and are helpful in moving toward a solution of the problem. The Department is pleased that the Minister of Finance has made an address on opium, that he has presented a bill to the Majlis providing for the ratification of the Geneva Drug Convention of 1925, and that he has issued instructions on the control of exports. It is regretted that he did not also present a bill providing for the ratification of The Hague Opium Convention of 1912 without reservation as to article 3a.
The Department does not feel, however, that it should at this time give publicity to and congratulate the Iranian Government on the position now taken, as there is no visible manifestation of any positive action. The formal reply of the Iranian Government to the Embassy’s note pursuant to the Judd Resolution is still being awaited. Upon receipt of that reply and with the consent of the Iranian Government, the Department proposes to publish in the “Department of State Bulletin” the text of the exchange of notes. It is hoped that [Page 1539] the Iranian Government in its reply will set forth clearly its position on the question of the limitation of the production of opium.
The Treasury Department and this Department are still interested in having information on the subjects listed in the first paragraph of the Department’s telegram no. 406 of August 7, 1945.27 Mr. Bader failed to disclose whether the Iranian Government has complete statistics or will establish a system whereby accurate information can be obtained in regard to opium production, stocks, exports and consumption. If the Embassy itself has been able to obtain information concerning the first nine topics listed in the above-mentioned telegram, the Department would be glad to receive it.
With regard to Mr. Bader’s instructions concerning the export of opium from Iran, the Embassy may wish to inquire of him whether in future he proposes to issue export permits only on the basis of import permits signed by authorized authorities. In the opinion of American narcotics authorities this is far more important than the matter of merely taking care to see that each export is covered by an export permit. From information in their possession, the American authorities believe that Iran on many occasions between 1933 and 1940 made shipments to the Far East on the basis of import permits issued by persons who were not charged in their countries with the responsibility of issuing import permits. Although request has been made of the Iranian Government for permission to see the import permits on which the Iranian Government made export shipments, that Government has never consented to produce the import permits from its records for examination.
[Here follow additional comments on Mr. Bader’s speech before the Anti-Opium Society.]
The Department is pleased with the forceful manner in which you have drawn the attention of the Iranian Government to the opium problem. It trusts that you will continue to keep the subject before the Iranian authorities. The Department, in particular, desires that you again urge the Iranian authorities to make a reply without further [Page 1540] delay to the Embassy’s note of September 20, 194429 pursuant to the Judd Eesolution, and that you continue to endeaver to obtain from the Iranian Government a statement regarding its willingness to become a party to the Turkish-Yugoslav Opium Sales Agreement. You may point out that if Iran were to be included in that agreement, Iran would be accorded a definite share of the international opium market and would be assured of a fair price for its opium.
Very truly yours,
[Participation by the United States in cooperative efforts for international control of the traffic in and suppression of the abuses of opium and other dangerous drugs had continued at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, April 25–June 26, 1945.30 There, with regard to the establishment of a United Nations Economic and Social Council, the United States delegation went on record as hoping that the Organization would be entrusted with supervision over the execution of existing or future international agreements with regard to the control of the legitimate traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs, and the suppression of illicit traffic in and abuse of such drugs; that there should be established an advisory body to advise directly the Economic and Social Council on these matters; and that the existing agencies be regarded as autonomous agencies to be related directly to the Economic and Social Council.31
Subsequently, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs was created on February 18, 1946, by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.32]
- Not printed.↩
- Delivered in Tehran on August 26 at a meeting of the Anti-Opium Society.↩
- Not printed; the first paragraph requested information on the following aspects of Iranian opium: production, 1940–45; quantity in possession of the Government and farmers; exports, 1940–45; control of opium in international trade by use of import-export permits; extent of addiction and quantity of opium consumed in Iran; measures to enforce narcotics laws; the system of licensing smokers and eaters of opium; smuggling and steps taken to prevent it; the cost and time required to shift from producing opium to other products; attitude toward joining the Turkish-Yugoslav opium agreement; and attitude toward the Judd Resolution (891.114 Narcotics/3145).↩
- The note of September 20, 1944, to the Iranian Ministry for Foreign Affairs was not answered. However, on April 10, 1946, the Iranian Government issued a decree forbidding cultivation of the opium poppy after the harvesting of that year’s crop. The Iranian Government, on June 26, 1946, made it unlawful to use opium and as of November 22, 1946, prohibited its sale to the public. In a conversation with an officer of the Embassy on November 22, 1948, the Iranian Prime Minister stated that henceforth Iran would export opium for medicinal purposes only and prohibit aU exports of opium to the Far East. On March 19, 1949, a decree of the Iranian Council of Ministers revoked the prohibition of April 10, 1946, but limited opium production to local and international scientific and medical requirements. This was followed, later, by the enactment of legislation by the Majlis on October 7, 1955, under which the cultivation of the opium poppy was banned.↩
- For documentation on the San Francisco Conference, see vol. i, pp. 1 ff.↩
- Department of State Conference Series No. 71, June 26, 1945: Report to the President on the Results of the San Francisco Conference by the Chairman of the United States Delegation, The Secretary of State, p. 122.↩
- Journal of the Economic and Social Council, No. 12, pp. 129–130. See also George A. Morlock, “International Control of Dangerous Drugs; Preview of Commission on Narcotic Drugs”, Department of State Bulletin, November 17, 1946, pp. 885–888.↩